


Designs

by thealphagate_archivist



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Episode Related, Established Relationship, M/M, Missing Scene, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-03-21
Updated: 2006-03-21
Packaged: 2019-02-02 14:31:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12728409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thealphagate_archivist/pseuds/thealphagate_archivist
Summary: Daniel's new house has a very small bed. Jack makes moves to correct that.





	Designs

**Author's Note:**

> Note from the archivists: this story was originally archived at [The Alpha Gate](https://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Alpha_Gate), a Stargate SG-1 archive, which began migration to the AO3 in 2017 when its hosting software, eFiction, was no longer receiving support. To preserve the archive, we began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in November 2017. We e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are this creator and it hasn't transferred to your AO3 account, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Alpha Gate collection profile](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/thealphagate).

  
Author's notes: Do you need a warning about warm smooshies? Consider yourself warned.  


* * *

Jack pulled his truck into the driveway of the small dove gray bungalow, located on a quiet street in Colorado Springs just a half mile from his own house. There were already two cars there. Daniel's black Subaru was parked right next to a big white Mercedes E-Class with plates that read RELOC8.

As he eased out of the truck and slammed the door, Jack looked the house over. It was such a subdued looking place. It didn't scream Daniel at him at all, but this was the house that his partner had said was The One. He'd asked Jack to come and see it before he made a final decision, and so he'd driven over, pleased to have been asked for his input. 

The front door was standing open, and as Jack approached the brick paved porch, he could hear Daniel's deeper rumbling voice in conversation with a woman's higher pitched one. Jack tapped on the door as he stood in the entrance, taking off his sunglasses and letting his eyes adjust to the gloom inside. "Hello?" he called out. 

Immediately Daniel's voice answered, "Jack! Come on in."

Jack stepped into the small foyer, his head turned to the left to spot Daniel and the realtor. "Hey," he said as he caught sight of them. He walked into the living room.

Daniel stepped towards him, holding his hand out, which Jack grasped. "Hey, Jack. Welcome."

Jack smiled, raising his eyebrows as he looked beyond Daniel to the petite dark haired woman standing over by the fireplace at the far end of the room. 

Daniel turned, dropping Jack's hand. "Mary," he said, "I'd like you to meet my friend, Jack O'Neill." His gaze returning to Jack, he waved a hand towards the woman who was striding over, her hand outstretched to greet Jack. "Jack, this is my realtor, Mary Weaver." 

The two murmured their greetings. "Daniel has told me that he'd like to show you around the house, Mr. O'Neill." She looked at Daniel for confirmation, which he gave with a nod and a small grin. "So I'll leave you two gentlemen to your tour." 

She touched Daniel's arm as she walked by. "I'll be outside in my car making some phone calls. Take your time. Just come out when you're done, okay?"

"Thanks, Mary," Daniel murmured. 

She went out, gently closing the front door behind her. 

As soon as he was sure they were alone, Jack stepped closer, wrapping one arm around Daniel's neck. "Hey again," he whispered, lowering his lips onto Daniel's for a quick kiss. 

Daniel tilted his head back with a smile. He moved back, his hand on Jack's elbow for a moment. "Ready to look around?" 

They trailed from room to room. Jack listened to his lover's excited chatter, his eyes looking at Daniel much more than they were taking in the features of the little house. It was so good to see him happy, centered, making plans for the future. 

After two months, Jack was still incredulous that Daniel had been returned to him. Not just to the world, and to the SGC, but to him, personally. His Daniel was alive again, whole, maddeningly intelligent and intuitive, and as always, single mindedly questioning of Jack's command, in the field, at home, everywhere.

He loved Daniel with a passion that was beyond reason, core deep, the stuff of romance novels, epic fairy tales, and classic mythology. Except it was real. Jack loved him, inside, outside and everywhere in between. 

"You listening to me?" Daniel asked with a grin.

"Yup." Jack squeezed his shoulder, smiling into his beautiful blue eyes. "Sure I am. Every word. The guy who lived here moved to Arizona. He's leaving this furniture that's still here. The building inspector said the place is built like a rock, solid as can be. Oh, and let's see, it's the bargain of the century."

"The year, Jack. The year." Daniel rolled his eyes as they walked into the master bedroom together. 

Jack looked around at the space, which was decent sized, with smoothly polished oak floors and large windows that let in nice light. It smelled clean in there, like it'd been scoured, polished, and made ready for them. 

He took a deep breath. "Nice room," he observed. "But small bed." He stood looking down at the little bed, which had an obvious depression right in the middle of the mattress.

"Well, it's full sized."

"So are we," Jack said. "Both of us. Separately. Together, we are definitely king sized."

Daniel went and sat on the edge of the bed, doing a trial bounce with his ass. "It'll be-"

"Cozy?"

"Yeah," Daniel agreed. 

"Well..."

"Don't worry, Jack. Beds can be replaced. This'll be a good starter, until I can go shopping." He stood up again and pointed to the bathroom doorway. "Go in there and check out the shower."

With a low laugh, Jack went past him and poked his head into the small room. One wall was dominated by a tiled shower, glassed in, with double showerheads. He whistled. "Wow, now that's a shower and a half." He turned to grin at Daniel, waggling his eyebrows.

"I know, huh? So the bed's too small, but the shower is juuuuust right?" Daniel drawled knowingly. 

Jack was right behind him as they left the bedroom. "We'll have to find out."

As they walked, Daniel reached back and made a brief grab for him, connecting with his ribs, making Jack laugh and swat at him. "Oh, we will. Guaranteed."

In the kitchen/dining area, glass sliders led out onto a redwood deck. The two men walked out into the sunshine and leaned against the railing overlooking the small back yard.

"This is conservation land out back here," Daniel said, pointing with one finger at the expanse of trees beyond the lawn. "And look at the view of Pike's Peak and the mountains."

"Coffee," Jack said, his eyes far away and contemplative as his gaze took in the sight.

Daniel turned his head to study his profile. "Coffee?"

"Yeah," Jack murmured. He sidled over to Daniel so that their arms were touching. "In the mornings when we can stay home. Coffee and the morning paper. Out here on the deck." He nudged Daniel with his elbow. "You and me."

Daniel smiled at him and asked, "So you like the place?"

"I do if you do. And I think you do." He snickered at his own play on words. "Don't you?"

"I do."

They stood there beside each other for a few moments, leaning on the railing and thinking. The area was quiet, peaceful and Jack had to admit that despite his initial misgivings, now he could see what Daniel liked about the place.

"Oh!" A feminine voice broke off their reverie. "I'm sorry to interrupt."

Both men turned towards each other and then to face the real estate broker. Daniel stood up straight, moving subtly to put a little space between himself and Jack. "Hi, Mary. That's okay."

"I don't want to hurry you, but the office called, and they needed me to go in as soon as I could. I was just wondering-" she pointed back into the house with a thumb then used her index finger to make a little circling motion.

"Oh," Daniel said, looking at Jack and then starting to walk towards Mary. "That's okay. Jack's seen the whole place now."

She stood aside, allowing the men to move past her into the house. As she slid the door closed and locked it, she turned to Daniel and asked, "Do you want to call me with your decision?"

Daniel looked into Jack's eyes, and they blinked at each other for a moment. Jack gave him a smile and a little shrug. 

"No, that's okay," Daniel told her. "I'll take it."

Mary looked at him with her mouth formed into an amazed little "o". 

"I love it, and I'll take it," Daniel announced with delight, noticing that Jack didn't look at all surprised.

* * *

Three Months Later

Long after Daniel had dropped off to sleep, Jack lay beside him, staring into the dark recesses of the ceiling. Weak light from outside leaked in through the blinds at the windows of Daniel's bedroom, casting misshapen shadows in the corners and around the closet door, which was standing open. 

It still felt strange staying there overnight. Jack could never quite shake the willies he got whenever he thought of Osiris standing over Daniel while he'd slept, manipulating his dreams and suggesting her own agenda while the rest of SG-1 had sat in the surveillance van outside on the street. Even though they'd kept an eye on Daniel on the closed circuit television and also had audio feeds running into the truck, that whole thing with the snakehead stalking Daniel had worried Jack more than he'd let on at the time. When the Goa'uld started invading their homes, well, that was getting too damned close for comfort in his book. Daniel had taken it more in stride, as he usually did, while Jack had obsessed over his safety and mother henned him half to death. 

But now that the danger had passed, and Sarah was being eased back into her old life on Earth, the oddest thing about Daniel's new house was his damned bed. Jack hated it with a passion and was convinced it had been brought into the world at least as long ago as he himself. And apparently only one person had ever slept it in, since there was a big, deep depression right in the center of the bed that threw the two large men into a most uncomfortable bowl whenever they tried to sleep together in it. Making love in a bowl was sort of fun, Jack had to admit, but any actual sleeping was another matter. He'd never known how much he relished a little apart-ness (and was that even a word?) once the snoring started. Inside the bowl, there was altogether too much altogether-ness, and it was driving Jack crazy. 

"Danny," he whispered. Daniel's head was on his shoulder, feeling as weighty as a bowling ball, and Jack was certain he could feel a line of drool puddling between them. "Danny!"

God, Jack was hot and sweaty, and not in a good way, either. The damned bed was like a sauna. Daniel, God love him, was apparently oblivious, happy, sated, and heavy as hell. "Danny!"

Daniel lifted his head with a start. "Hmphf?"

Jack kissed his forehead and started to ease away from him. "I'm gonna go home." 

"Noooo," Daniel protested, wrapping his arms tighter around Jack. "You feel so good. Don't go."

Jack sighed. They had this discussion almost every time Jack stayed over at Daniel's. He could count on the fingers of one hand the times he'd actually made it through a night there, without going home to his own lonely king sized bed.

Daniel was kissing his neck and trying to get closer, which probably wasn't really possible, given the tight confines of the bed's concavity. 

"Babe." Jack pushed at him a little, forcing him to unlatch his mouth from his collarbone. "Yeah. I'm sorry, but you know I can't sleep in this thing."

Daniel made an impatient clucking sound and eased away as much as he was able. 

Jack took the opportunity to hoist himself to the edge of the bed and swing his feet onto the floor. He reached over to turn on the dim bedside lamp. He plucked his clothes off the floor and wearily started to dress. Going home in the wee hours was not something he relished. 

And Daniel wasn't helping any. He was rubbing Jack's back with his warm hand. "Want me to go with you?" he offered.

Jack turned and looked down at him. "Yeah, I'd like that, but I don't really want you to. Look at you, you're out for the count." He leaned over and kissed him on the lips, watching the sleepy blue eyes slide shut. "I'll see you in the morning on base."

Daniel nodded, turning his face into his pillow and pulling the covers up around his shoulders, settling down again. "Wanna have breakfast in the commissary?" he mumbled.

Jack laughed softly. "Sure. Meetcha at 0730." He looked at his watch as he strapped it on his wrist. "Which is exactly six hours from now," he muttered under his breath. He leaned over and pulled on his socks and shoes.

When he bent over the bed to kiss Daniel good-bye, it was pretty obvious that he was already asleep. "Night," Jack whispered. "Sweet dreams." There was no answer from his partner, so he straightened up, shutting off the bedside lamp, and made his way out of the house to head for his own bed.

* * *

Two Weeks Later

The alarm clock woke Daniel. He punched the maddeningly small button on the top of the thing to shut it up, having to swat at it three times before he scored. 

With a groan, he turned over onto his back, making an effort to remember what day it was, and why he'd set his clock to ring at such an ungodly hour. It was dark in the room and the glowing red numerals told him it was only 5:30. 

He was pretty sure he was alone in the bed. He reached out both hands and felt to the edges. No Jack. His mind befuddled with sleep, Daniel also tried to remember Jack actually going home the night before, but couldn't. 

The damned tiny bed was a bone of contention between them. Daniel had promised to shop for a new one, but hadn't gotten around to it. He never expected Jack to actually spend the night any more. No one complained about the sex in the center of the broken down mattress, but Jack had continued to swear he couldn't sleep on it. 

Daniel vowed to himself that when he got back from this next mission, he would go bed shopping, come hell or high water. 

He ran one hand over his face, rubbing at his forehead and blinking the sleep out of his eyes. He turned over on his side, thinking about the day ahead. Hammond and Jack had signed the paperwork to reassign him temporarily to SG-11 for ten days. P4X-993 awaited. Daniel had been excited to be asked to go along on their mission, which involved investigating some ruins as well as the remnants of a library that had been found. Daniel had seen video footage and read all the reports that had been generated by the preliminary work being done on the planet. Now he looked forward to getting his hands dirty and working shoulder to shoulder with the SGC's archaeological team. 

Jack had the day off, and they wouldn't be meeting up on base before Daniel left, so he reached for the phone next to the bed and dialed Jack's number. He listened to it ring and was starting to wonder if Jack would pick up when he heard his lover's voice in his ear.

"O'Neill." The simple answer was followed by a violent clearing of his throat. "This better be good."

"Hey."

"Oh, it IS good." More throat clearing. "God, are you up early or what? You okay?"

"Got a 7AM date with the ramp, remember?"

"What?"

"At seven, Jack. Me. Ramp." He paused for a moment, to give Jack time to process. "Miss me yet?"

"Yeah, I do, as a matter of fact."

"I'll send you a postcard."

" 'Wish you were here'?"

"Nice thought." Daniel laughed low in his throat. "I wish I were there, too."

"Have fun playing in the dirt, Danny."

"Love you."

"You too. Hurry home."

Daniel listened to the low click in his ear. Fighting down a pang of homesickness, for which he chided himself as ridiculous, he replaced the phone in its cradle, fumbled for his glasses, and swung out of bed to start his trip.

* * *

Jack's secret plans had been hatched in the wee hours at Daniel's over parts of many sleepless nights, listening to Daniel snuffle and snore while clinging to Jack as they lay together in the bottom of the bed bowl. Daniel simply was not getting a move on and had done absolutely nothing about getting himself a new mattress, so Jack had decided to take the matter into his own hands. When Daniel's assignment with SG-11 had come up, Jack knew he now had the perfect opportunity to transform Daniel's bedroom while he was gone.

Shortly after Daniel went through the wormhole with SG-11 on that Saturday morning, Jack was in the shower. Within the hour, he was treating himself to an Egg McMuffin and a large coffee at McDonald's. Soon he was on his way to the Citadel Mall, and he arrived just as the doors opened at 0900.

A bit over two hours later, his Dillard's credit card had been raped, pillaged, and plundered, but his plan was now becoming reality. Heading to Home Depot in the late morning sunshine, Jack smiled to himself and sang along with the opera flowing out of his truck radio, which was tuned to NPR.

He was convinced that his was a good plan. He would see it carried out with precise military logic and highly skilled planning, and when Daniel got back, all Jack would have to do is stand back, unveil his gift, and collect the thanks and love. Could anything be easier?

As he slid out of the truck and headed toward the paint section in the huge home improvement store, Jack's plans continued to unfold in his mind. The room would be azure blue, the color of the summer sky and of Daniel's eyes. He'd have to kill anyone who figured that out, of course, and would never admit to a soul why he chose that color, but he could already picture his love spread eagled under him on that enormous flat new bed, surrounded by the perfect shade of blue.

* * *

Ten Days Later

It was almost 9PM when Daniel walked through the wormhole and strode down the ramp. He lifted one hand in greeting to the techs in the control room, and barely breaking stride, handed off his weapons to the ordnance sergeant who was waiting for him by the door to the corridor. He headed for the infirmary for a quick check up and then went to SG-1's locker room.

His time with SG-11 had been fruitful. Fun, even. He'd found the team easy to work with. The CO, Colonel Vanguard, had been willing to let Doctor Jackson spend his time as he saw fit, and Daniel had enjoyed being part of a real archaeological dig again, for the first time in way too long. 

The one hard thing about his ten days away was how much he'd missed Jack. It was the longest they'd been separated since Daniel's return from Vis Uban. Daniel had never really thought about how joined at the hip the two of them had become. As sappy as it felt, it'd been a revelation to discover the depth of his homesickness and longing.

For a long time, he stood under the hot spray of water in the locker room shower, shampooing twice and also soaping and scrubbing his body twice, letting the alien grit, which had seemed cemented into his pores, wash down the drain.

Topside close to an hour later, Daniel went through the last check point and out into the fresh night of Cheyenne Mountain. He stood for a few moments, breathing deep, taking a long look at the clear sky with its spangle of stars. The moonless night was so pristine, he could even see the wash of the Milky Way running across the heavens. It was good to see the familiar constellations again as he filled his lungs with the cool, clean alpine air.

When he arrived at his car a couple of minutes later, the first thing he did was pull out his cell phone and call Jack. Heedless that it was close to midnight, he was anxious to start the connection between them. He shoved his keys in the ignition and started up the engine while he listened to Jack's phone ring.

"Hey, Daniel," Jack's warm voice filled his ear. The Caller ID had told him who was calling, and it was a good sign that he apparently was still awake enough to have read it.

"Hey! It's me."

"Hey, me. Where are you?"

"Just got in my car. About to leave the base. Where are you?" He shoved the car in drive and started towards the guard shack at the base entrance, his cell phone pressed to his ear.

"Ah." Jack laughed low in his throat. "I'm at your place, actually."

Daniel was surprised. "Yeah? How come?"

"Never mind. You'll see. Just hurry home, okay?"

"What d'ya mean, 'you'll see'?" Daniel asked. "Jack, what have you done?" He slowed for the Marine guard, answered the man's salute with a wave of his own, and eased by the checkpoint to start down the mountain road.

"Never mind," Jack sing-songed at him. "See you in a few."

Daniel pulled the phone away from his head and frowned at it. Jack had hung up on him! "Damn it," he muttered, clicking the phone shut and shoving it in his jacket pocket. He couldn't wait to see Jack, but the mysterious act was unsettling. That was a new one.

* * *

Knowing Daniel was on his way, Jack went into their newly refurbished bedroom to do the final touches. He made sure the vertical blinds were closed and switched on the low lamps on either side of the new bed. He lit the candles he'd placed strategically around the room and then stood back in the doorway to survey the scene.

He'd worked hard to get just the right shade of blue for the walls. It was exactly the color of Daniel's eyes, like the summer sky, a deep, clear aquamarine. Jack had been nervous when he'd had to remove the art work from the walls and take Daniel's other artifacts out of the room, but had literally drawn himself a diagram of their placement so when he reassembled the room after he'd painted, everything had been returned to its exact correct place.

He'd bought a new rug for the floor, and it had been spread out under the bed, which he'd placed against one wall. In colors of dark blue, red, dark green and gold, it was woven in a beautiful abstract design that Jack thought of as timeless. He'd found it wasn't easy to choose a rug to compliment the room's odd combination of tribal death masks, Egyptian urns, and the Americana he'd added to it.

Because beside the bed itself, his best find, the piéce de resistance, as it were, was the beautiful handmade quilt he'd purchased in a Denver antique shop. When Jack had seen the bright golden patchwork stars on the field of midnight blue, he knew it was the one he wanted for their new bed. Only the best for the best, he'd smugly thought to himself. Beautiful stars for the star of Jack's life, who also happened to travel the stars with him. He'd chided himself for his sappy corniness and bought the quilt anyway, happily paying an arm and a leg for the thing, bringing it home, and spreading it reverently on the modern bed.

So now all was in readiness. Jack ran a hand through his hair and with one last glance around he went out, shutting the bedroom door. In the kitchen, he retrieved the chilled bottle of Chardonnay he'd bought earlier and started to uncork it. As he got out two of Daniel's best crystal stemmed glasses, he heard his partner's key in the front door lock.

"Jack?"

"In here," Jack called out. He poured a good measure of wine into each glass and then turned to greet Daniel as he came in.

Daniel shrugged out of his coat, carelessly tossing it over the back of a kitchen chair, and walked straight into Jack's arms.

Daniel's hands seemed to be everywhere on him at once. They stood, devouring each other's mouths, pressing as close to one another as they could get. When Jack finally tilted his head back, standing nose to nose with Daniel, they were both breathing hard, their arms clasped tightly around each other, groins glued together. "Welcome home," he whispered.

Daniel's answer was another kiss. Jack loved standing so close to him, one hand clasped to the back of Daniel's warm head, the other at his waist. Like a starving man, his tongue lapped up the flavor of his lover, as he was tasted in return.

"Wow," Daniel breathed, one hand on Jack's cheek. "Did I ever miss you."

Jack stepped back with a smile and grabbed the wine glasses, handing one to Daniel. "For you."

Daniel took a sip of the chilled drink, regarding Jack over the rim of his glass. He reached for Jack's hand, clasping his fingers tightly. "We celebrating something?" Not waiting for an answer, Daniel started leading Jack out of the room.

Stepping into the hallway, they started for the bedroom. Jack pulled back on him, stopping his progress. "Uh. Wait."

Daniel turned to look at him. He indicated the bedroom door with a nod of his head. "Not...?"

Jack smiled at him. "Well, yeah, but I just wanted to warn you. Ah. There have been-- That is, I, er, made-"

Daniel waggled his eyebrows at him, his gaze going back and forth between Jack's face and the closed bedroom door. He took a big swallow of his wine, handed his glass to Jack, and quickly turned away to stride to the door.

"Wait"!" Jack gasped, but it was too late. The door had been flung open, and Daniel was silhouetted in the door frame, back lit by the candles and low lights. Daniel's hands were on his hips and as Jack came up behind him he watched him tilt his head back, his head moving from side to side as he took in the whole room.

"Danny?" Jack murmured. He stepped into the room and put the wine glasses down on the dresser. "Surprise!" he added weakly. Suddenly, Jack was terribly nervous. What if he'd made a huge mistake, taking the bull by the horns as he had?

Daniel was still silent, and Jack couldn't figure out if that was a good thing or a bad thing. 

Not daring to look into Daniel's face, Jack stepped around him to the far side of the bed and flopped down on top of the quilt. "Look!" Jack enthused. He picked up a small remote control from the bedside table and waved it at Daniel. "I got us a Sleep Comfort bed. See?" He twisted the dial on the remote, pushed a button, and that side of the big king sized bed seemed to inflate under him. "You dial the number you want for soft or hard you know however you like it and then you can have what you like and I can have what I like and we can both be comfortable and the saleslady in Dillard's told me she and her husband have one of these and it's the niftiest thing they ever owned and they don't fight about what kind of mattress to buy anymore and they're both happy and-"

Jack abruptly stopped talking as Daniel turned on his heel and strode out of the room. Well, shit.

* * *

The room was gorgeous. Daniel had never seen anything so beautiful. Still filled with his artifacts and personal mementoes. He'd seen at a glance that Jack had been painfully careful to return everything back just the way Daniel had had things arranged. And blue. Of course, Jack had chosen blue for the walls. They would probably never talk about it, but Daniel knew why. The rug was colorful and richly woven, the new bedside tables gleamed, the unique stained glass lamps casting a warm glow over everything. The bed was huge, flat, promising comfort like the two men had never had together. 

But it was the stars on the quilt that got to Daniel. Oh God, the stars. Look at what Jack had done! Daniel hadn't known what to say. Couldn't talk anyway, since he seemed to have no breath left in his body for speech. So he'd taken off, leaving Jack in mid-sentence. Not Daniel's finest moment. Jack had worked so hard, making that wonderful gift a reality, and Daniel couldn't even stay in the room with him.

He strode down the hall and into the kitchen, where he hit the light switch and plunged the room into darkness. Unlocking the sliding doors to the deck, he slammed them open and stepped outside, breathing deep of the cool night air. The house behind him was dark, and all was quiet. The sky was the deepest sapphire blue, studded with brilliant stars. Daniel stood by the railing, flung his head back and automatically searched for the North Star, an old habit he'd started in childhood. Yes, there it was.

Stupid tears prickled the backs of his eyes as he made an effort to get a grip. Very shortly he was aware of Jack's presence by his side. Not touching, though. Daniel cleared his throat and swallowed, wondering where to start, but Jack beat him to the punch.

"We can put it back the way it was," Jack whispered. "If you hate it, it can all be returned and we...I...can fix it. I still have your old bed, it's home in my garage. I just thought..."

Daniel turned his head and regarded Jack's shadowy features in the inky darkness. He reached out with one hand and pressed his fingertips to Jack's lips. "Ssshhh."

Jack kissed his fingers but made no move towards him. Daniel could feel his warm breath on his hand. "Just ssshhh," Daniel murmured. He lowered his arm and hooked one finger into the waistband of Jack's jeans, tugging him closer.

Daniel turned as Jack stepped up to him. He took his glasses off and put them in the breast pocket of his shirt, slid his arms around Jack and laid his head down on his shoulder, his forehead turned into the warmth of his partner's neck. 

Jack put his arms around him and held him close. "Are we okay?" he asked in a soft voice.

"Of course we're okay." Daniel sighed. "It was the stars."

Jack gave him a squeeze but remained silent.

"The room is beautiful, Jack. You did a great job," Daniel said, his words muffled by Jack's shirt. He heard Jack's huff of released breath. "It was the stars."

"The stars?" Jack chuckled, low in his throat. "Well, I saw that quilt, and it just seemed...I don't know. Appropriate, I guess. You. Me. Stars."

Daniel nodded. "Love you." He nuzzled Jack's collarbone.

"Thank God."

More laughter. Both of them this time.

"So do we get to go try out that brand new bed now? I've been waiting for you ever since it arrived the other day," Jack said. He moved back a bit to look into Daniel's face. He put a finger under Daniel's chin and lifted it so he could see him better. "And I wanna play with those remote controls."

Daniel grinned. "I'll give you more than that to play with."

"Counting on that, Danny." Jack kissed him swiftly.

Daniel put his palm on Jack's cheek, letting his fingers run down over the soft, warm, freshly shaven skin. Just like Jack, to have shaved for him. He let his eyes rove over Jack's face, barely visible in the dim light, but it didn't matter, since he'd memorized all of those beloved features years ago. "No one has ever given me a gift like that before, Jack."

"The room?"

"Yeah. You didn't just go out and slap something together. Don't give up your day job or anything, but I think you might have some success as an interior designer someday when you retire."

Jack snickered, reaching to begin unbuttoning Daniel's shirt. "I've got designs on your interior, does that count?"

Daniel slugged him gently on the arm and turned to go into the house. Echoing Jack's own words back at him, Daniel laughed over his shoulder, "Counting on it, Jack. Counting on it."

~finis~


End file.
